Obama Family Visits Bookstore for ‘Small Business Saturday’ — So What Book Did He Buy?

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(The Blaze/AP) Following the craziness of Black Friday, President Barack Obama has pitched in to help small businesses get into the holiday shopping season by visting a local Washington bookstore on “Small Business Saturday.” The president took along his daughters Malia and Sasha, while taking time to say hello to a few fellow customers on the shopping run a few blocks from the White House:

AP notes that the retail industry is encouraging shoppers to patronize mom-and-pop businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It’s a counterpoint to Black Friday and the sales and special deals offered by department stores and other large retailers.

The Obamas walked out with a selection of books including “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” ”Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever” and “Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.”

The last selection appears to be on the reading list of President Obama rather than Sasha and Malia. Amazon describes “Descent into Chaos” as a “blistering critique of American policy-a dire warning and an impassioned call to correct these disastrous strategies before these failing states threaten global stability and bring devastation to our world.” The book is by Ashmed Rashid, author of Taliban, an influential and award-winning book published in 2000 that became a key resource following the 9/11 attacks for its focus on the “most extreme and radical of all Islamic organizations” and the group’s power within Afghanistan.

Seems like a practical choice, but if you could, what book would you recommend to the top of Barack Obama’s reading list?